Officer assaults down in South Yorkshire, survey shows

OFFICER assaults at South Yorkshire Police have fallen – and the number of officers attacked at the force is one of the lowest in the country, a survey has shown.

In total, 57 officers were hit, kicked, spat, punched or otherwise assaulted at the force in the period April 2013 and the end of March this year, compared with 66 the year before. Only five forces in England and Wales had a lower number of assaults.

South Yorkshire has bucked the trend nationally, where number of assaults on officers is climbing.

Neil Bowles, chairman of South Yorkshire Police Federation, said he was “sure assaults in South Yorkshire are going unrecorded” adding that the officers he represents “could be safer.”

He said: “I am getting anecdotal evidence of shifts in the middle of Sheffield turning out with so few numbers that people are saying how can we keep the people safe if we can’t keep each other safe?

“I am telling our members to make sure everything is recorded – including near misses, under the health and safety banner, so that we can get a true picture of what is actually happening.

“And I would say to the force that this risk assessment with single crewing needs to be far more robust to assess jobs that officers are going for. It’s got to be dynamic from the communications centre – to be aware of what they are sending officers to and supervisors to be listening to the radio so that they know what officers are going to.”

There were 20,249 assaults on police officers in the UK between April 2013 and March. That is 579 more assaults than in the previous financial year.

A police officer in the UK is assaulted every 27 minutes, according a request made under the Freedom of Information Act. That is 56 officers attacked on the streets of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland every day.

Steve Evans, vice-chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales blamed falling officer numbers for the national increase in police assaults.

In a year the UK police service lost around 2.4 per cent of its officer numbers – there were 3,275 fewer sworn officers in September 2013 than there were in September 2012.

Mr Evans said: “Clearly the number of police officers on the streets have gone down and people know that. If visible presence has gone down – does that make people feel more confident to have a go at a police officer?”

Some officers blame the courts for not properly punishing offenders.

However, a spokesman for the CPS said: “The CPS considers all cases in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors. That an alleged offence was committed against a public servant performing their lawful duties would be a strong factor in favour of prosecuting when assessing the public interest. Sentencing is a matter for the Sentencing Council and the Judiciary.”

The Police Federation of England and Wales has said it would like to see custodial sentencing tightened up so that any offender who commits a second tier assault on a police officer can expect to spend time in jail.

Mr Evans added: “There needs to be a greater deterrent. If you ask people to guard society, then those who attack these people and therefore society, should go to prison. Politicians talk about it, but more needs to be done. There should be at least a mandatory prison sentence for those who commit a second tier assault on a police officer. “I have heard judges and magistrates say ‘You are police officers, you should be used to it’. But it should not be seen as an occupational hazard. That is unacceptable.”